By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Firefighters in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, says they are yet to ascertain the cause of the inferno that erupted at the headquarters of popular pentecostal church, Christ Embassy in the early hours of Sunday.
An investigation has however been launched to unravel the cause of the fire, the Director of Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement on Sunday.
Located in the Oregun area of Ikeja, Lagos State, the church is headed by influential pastor, Chris Oyakhilome.
“The church auditorium was found to be engulfed in flames. The fire is currently under control.
“In addition, an excavator is being used to pull down some parts of the building to ensure complete extinguishment and to prevent further structural collapse.
“The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and investigations are underway to ascertain its origin. No casualties have been reported at this time. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available,” the Service said.
It also called for calm, assuring residents of the state that the fire was under control.
“This is to tell Lagosians to be calm, the fire outbreak at Christ Embassy headquarters in Ikeja is under control right now. As at the time of the voice note, no life involved.”
Meanwhile, in response to the development, Oyakhilome who is also the President and founder of LoveWorld Incorporated said the fire incident at the church’s headquarters was not an accident but an avenue for bigger and better things.
“Nothing happens in the life of a child of God by accident. During the 2001 Ikeja Cantonment bombing incident, the building vibrated so much and we thought it was going to collapse.
“I thought to myself that if it collapsed, I was going to build a bigger, better one. At the end of the day, it didn’t collapse and we called the engineers to see if there was any need to bring it down and rebuild but it was still okay.
“Now that this has happened, we will build a bigger, better, and more glorious one and the devil will lick his wound”.
